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Many of our tomatoes this summer look pretty ugly and is what I’d like to talk about this week. Some of the ugliness is due to high levels of gold fleck (Fig. 1). Gold fleck is caused by calcium crystals being deposited in the epidermal layers of the fruit when certain varieties are under stress...

Botrytis is the major disease on a grower's radar screen Infections can occur early in the season during bloom and later in the season from bunch closing on to harvest. Infections that get in at bloom (through senescing blossom parts) remain latent (dormant) until some of them resume activity and...

Taxus cuspidata There is a yew for you--no matter what size or shape you need, sun or shade--when you want a low maintenance hardy evergreen shrub. Yew species and varieties have vastly different growth characteristics, so be sure to check a yew’s tag carefully. They vary from 50’ tall to dwarf,...

Malus domestica Who can resist the image of picking plump juicy apples from your own backyard? Apples are the quintessential American fruit. Spring blossoms cover the trees, and they produce for years. However, for good fruit get educated before planting. Start with a suitable site (full sun is a...

Anthurium andraeanum With a pink or red splash of color, anthurium is welcome on any winter day, especially Valentine’s Day. The striking long-lasting flowers of this houseplant provide the color, while its dark green, leathery, arrow-shaped leaves are attractive on their own. Botanically speaking...

Taxodium distichum Although bald cypress grows well in wet places, it also does nicely in well-drained sunny locations with acidic soil. The woody protuberances that arise around bald cypress, known as knees, are only formed in water or very moist soils, so they won’t pop up in an average yard...

Sansevieria trifasciata ‘Golden Hahnii’ Snake Plant ‘Golden Hahnii’ is special among its species because it grows in a tight rosette that doesn’t get higher than about 6”. While its taller cousins bear such dreaded names as ‘Mother-in-law tongue’ and ‘Devil’s tongue’, this one deserves the happier...

Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’ As ground cover or shrub, Blue Star juniper proves to be a champ in the landscape. Its starry needles grow slowly to form a tidy, slightly undulating blue mound 3 to 4 feet wide. Although it can reach 3 feet, it is usually less than 2 feet high. Barely a pest or...

Juniperus virginiana This native conifer is actually a juniper, not a cedar. Growing to 40 feet tall and 15 feet wide, cultivars range from pyramidal to columnar, while volunteers vary greatly. Trunks have reddish peeling bark and can be handsomely fluted. With age the tree’s lower trunk often...

Crab cactus, Thanksgiving cactus, Claw cactus, Schlumbergera truncate Jungle cactus seems like an oxymoron, but in the wild the plant family of crab cactus inhabits debris in the crotches of tropical trees. Like its cousin Christmas cactus, crab cacti bloom around holiday time. (Bloom time can be...

Aglaonema modestum For an easy beginner houseplant, we nominate Chinese evergreen. It provides 8” long waxy undulating leaves on sturdy stalks about 1-2 feet high. It’s grown mainly for the foliage that can be solid green or variegated, but it may flower in late summer or early fall with a pale...

Symplocos paniculata Native to Asia, some consider sapphireberry to be one of the handsomest of fruiting shrubs. White fragrant flowers grow in panicles in spring, and bright blue to lapis berries are prolific in the fall until birds get them. Ten to twenty feet tall and wide, two must be planted...

Euphorbia amygdaloides ‘ Robbiae’ For gardeners on the lookout for plants with multi-season interest, this perennial euphorbia merits examination. In spring and summer, rosettes of leaves are a shiny deep green, a good backdrop for sprays of chartreuse flowers in late spring/early summer. In fall,...

Nyssa sylvatica Now this is one you should run out and buy if you need a shade tree. A native that grows up to fifty feet in height and a width of thirty feet, black gum is one of the best trees for fall color going from yellow to orange to red to purple. Although the flowers are not spectacular,...

Fothergilla major Nothing but pleasure rewards you for planting this native shrub. Fothergilla has virtually no diseases or pests. White spring flowers are short perky bottle-brushes, actually not comprised of petals but myriad stamens with a honeyed fragrance. Fall foliage in a dazzling palette of...

Cotoneaster salicifolius repens Have a slope or hard-to-mow area? Willowleaf cotoneaster is an easy groundcovering shrub, pest resistant, and fast growing. In full sun it rewards the grower with bright red berries in the fall and into the winter. With increasing shade, there are fewer berries. In...

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’ True to its name, ‘Fireworks’ seems to explode sprays of bright yellow flowers over a long period in autumn. At 3-4 feet in height, it stays more compact and flowers more heavily than the wild species, but its airy growth habit really distinguishes it from common...

Asimina triloba Wouldn’t you know America’s largest native fruit would be exceptional? The green or yellow pawpaw fruit, ripening in September-October, has the startling flavor of bananas, plus undertones of vanilla, pineapple and mango. The 1-2 ½” mauvey-purple flowers start female and then go...

Koelreuteria bipinnata Rare is the tree that blooms spectacularly in late summer. Goldenrain’s fragrant yellow-flowered panicles up to two feet long and 18 inches wide are followed by rosy pink seed capsules that hold color for weeks before browning. Fall leaf color is yellow. Dry seed pods can be...

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